Metrotown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Metropolis at Metrotown | |
 Metropolis at Metrotown's entrance facing Central Boulevard and the SkyTrain station. |
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| Facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
| Opening date | 1986 |
| Developer | Ivanhoe Cambridge / Cal Investments |
| Management | Ivanhoe Cambridge |
| No. of stores and services | 470 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 14 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,783,005 sq. ft. / 165,646.6 m² |
| Parking | 8,500 |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Website | [1] |
Metropolis at Metrotown (formerly known as Metrotown Centre, Eaton Centre Metrotown or Metro as an abbreviation) is a shopping mall complex in Burnaby, British Columbia. With over 470 shops and services, it is the largest mall in British Columbia, and the second largest in Canada. The mall is connected by a skyway to the Metrotown Station on the Skytrain rapid transit system. Two office buildings are part of the complex, with a third set to break ground in mid 2008.
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[edit] Expansions
Metrotown Centre first opened in 1986 -- attached to the Sears Canada department store operating at that location since the early 1950s -- on land that had previously held warehouses, other light industry, and a supermarket, and which was adjacent to the former Vancouver Interurban Rail line (now the route for the SkyTrain). The mall has been expanded and renovated several times, and has contributed to the rapid growth of the area's population.
Two additional shopping centres were constructed adjacent to the original Metrotown -- Eaton Centre and Station Square. These three different malls were connected by skyways, as were the two office towers known as the Metrotowers. In 1998, Eaton Centre added Metropolis, a collection of stores aimed towards younger shoppers, including Silvercity, Claire's, Off The Wall and CHQ (replacing the Playdium, which has since shut down), as well as several Asian-themed businesses. For teens there is Icing, Old Navy, HMV.
The name Metropolis came to apply to Eaton Centre once its main tenant, Eaton's, shut down. In 2005, a major expansion project ended that saw Metrotown and Metropolis combined into one single megamall, as well as the addition of many new stores and Western Canada's largest food court. Following this expansion, the two malls became one entity under the name "Metropolis at Metrotown".
In mid 2008, Metrotower III is expected to begin construction adjacent to the south plaza.
[edit] Surrounding Neighborhood
The word "Metrotown" has now come to apply to the parts of Burnaby that surround the mall, particularly the commercial and residential areas for several kilometres east and west along Kingsway. Previously, this neighbourhood was referred to as West Burnaby. Since the mid 1980's, the neighbourhood has undergone extreme "densification", thus reflecting the official community plan for the area, developed after SkyTrain was constructed. Some businesses across Burnaby's nearby western municipal border, in the City of Vancouver's Collingwood neighbourhood, use the Metrotown name, even though most residents would consider them outside of the region covered by the term.
The Metrotown neighbourhood is also home to a number of smaller shopping centres. Although connected to Metropolis by a skyway, Station Square has remained separately managed. Another shopping centre, the Asian-themed Crystal Mall, opened near Metropolis several years ago, although it has no direct connection. Old Orchard Centre, is yet another shopping centre located nearby that is considered part of the Metrotown district. Old Orchard Centre predates all of the other shopping centres in the neighbourhood and is a strip mall, as opposed to an enclosed mall. It features a Marketplace IGA grocery store, Rogers Video store, and a 24-hour Shoppers Drug Mart, as well as numerous other local and chain stores. [1]
[edit] Anchor stores
- Sears (217,283 sq ft (20,186 m²). / 20,186.3 m²)
- The Bay (132,036 sq ft (12,267 m²). / 12,266.5 m²)
- Real Canadian Superstore (128,468 sq ft (11,935 m²). / 11,935.1 m²)
- Zellers (116,700 sq ft (10,840 m²). / 10,841.8 m²)
- Winners HomeSense (64,916 sq ft (6,031 m²). / 6,030.9 m²)
- T & T Supermarket (59,651 sq ft (5,542 m²). / 5,541.8 m²)
- Silvercity (59,476 sq ft (5,526 m²). / 5,525.5 m²)
- Coast Mountain Sports/Sport Chek (48,423 sq ft (4,499 m²). / 4,498.6 m²)
- Toys "R" Us (38,867 sq ft (3,611 m²). / 3,610.9 m²)
- Home Outfitters (31,250 sq ft (2,903 m²). / 2,903.2 m²)
- Chapters (24,549 sq ft (2,281 m²). / 2,280.7 m²)
- Old Navy (18,441 sq ft (1,713 m²). / 1,190 m²)
- Zara (17,944 sq ft (1,667 m²). / 1,667.1 m²)
- Urban Behaviour (16,491 sq ft (1,532 m²). / 1,532.1 m²)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
